


First Contact

by emothy



Category: Kamen Rider Gaim
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Attempted murder, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Late Night Conversations, Phone Calls & Telephones, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 17:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5464550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emothy/pseuds/emothy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for a prompt from thedragonimagin@tumblr: <i> Zack/Micchi, calling in the middle of the night XD</i></p>
<p>(YOU DIDN'T SPECIFY FLUFF, ANGST OR SMUT SO UHM, YOU GOT ANGST SORT OF, I'M SORRY. BUT NOT.)</p>
<p>Set post-series. Some potential explanation for why Zack and Micchi would connect over their Helheim experiences and gravitate to one another.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Contact

-

When his phone buzzes around 2am Zack already knows who it's going to be, but he checks the caller ID before picking up anyway. Micchi.

"Hey," he says softly into the phone, making his voice an invitation, a welcome. 

"I'm sorry," Micchi says back, his voice barely above a whisper, hoarse and sniffling too. 

"You don't need to apologise; I told you you could call me anytime and I meant it." 

And when else would he? Micchi isn't the type to have the sudden realisation by light of day that he needs help and support and to go chasing it. No, he would just keep pushing ahead with his daily life, hiding it all under a mask. In the small hours of the morning, shrouded in darkness, that's the time he finally realises how isolated he's made himself. 

Except that Zack has never allowed Micchi to push him away with his actions. Even though Micchi hasn't spoken another word yet, probably waiting to be hung up on. Not gonna happen. 

"If that's not what you're sorry about," Zack continues, taking a gamble, "then you're forgiven for the other stuff, too." 

Micchi sobs down the line and Zack's heart clenches. He cradles the phone in his hands, wishing it were Micchi he could hold right now. 

"Why?" The single word Micchi asks in response. 

"I can't speak for anyone else," Zack says. "But from what I know of what happened, someone took advantage of you and how smart you are. I can't blame you for that. It means you were a victim too."

" _I tried to kill my brother!_ " Micchi whispers harshly. "And my _best friend!_ " 

"Well," Zack replies, swallowing hard. "I can relate to that one."

"W-what?" 

That's possibly the only time Zack has heard genuine shock in Micchi's voice. He doesn't know. Of course he doesn't; who would have told him? The only person he's come close to talking to since everything ended is Zack himself.

"Kaito..." Zack says, thinking he can get the word out but by the end his voice has given up and disappeared. He takes a deep breath and tries again. "He would've destroyed the entire world. He wouldn't have trusted anyone else to get close enough to him. So I did it. I tried to save everyone from him."

"Doesn't matter if you don't succeed, does it," Micchi says. His voice sounds hollow. "It's still just as terrible as if you had. Because you know in the moment you wanted it to happen." 

This time Zack is the one who doesn't know how to reply. It's not like Micchi to say something so raw and open, but the words wedge like something sharp in his chest and Zack doesn't want to acknowledge them. 

"I'm sorry," Micchi says again. This time his tone is gentle rather than weak. "I'm not helping. I never stopped to think that other people suffered just as badly as I did. I've always been too wrapped up in myself."

"You're not," Zack promises. His knuckles go white, he's gripping the phone so hard. If one thing gets through to Micchi let it be this. "You're thinking of others now. You just thought about _me_."

-


End file.
